Patient stories

Dorylee Baez lives fearlessly. Whether flying down a zip line or organizing a pancreatic cancer patient group in Puerto Rico, she plunges into life with zest. The 31-year-old academic advisor at Universidad del Este in Carolina, Puerto Rico, is known as someone who is tenacious, overcoming whatever obstacles get in her way to achieve and [...]

Teamwork. Mayo Clinic doctors from many medical specialties work together to provide you with the best care possible, tailored to your needs.

At the pancreas clinics in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota, your team may include specialists in gastroenterology, radiology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, surgery, pathology, nutrition and other areas if needed.

Experience. Mayo Clinic doctors have extensive experience diagnosing and treating pancreatic cancer. Mayo Clinic doctors care for about 1,900 people with pancreatic cancer each year. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 45,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer annually.

Latest diagnostic tools. Pancreatic cancer can be very difficult to distinguish from another relatively uncommon disease called autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP).

AIP is a noncancerous (benign) condition that can be treated with steroids without the need for surgery, if diagnosed early enough. The Pancreas Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota is a leader in developing diagnostic criteria for AIP.

Latest treatment options. Mayo Clinic doctors have access to the latest treatment innovations. Mayo Clinic surgeons were among the first in the U.S. to perform a Whipple procedure through a series of small incisions in the abdominal wall (laparoscopically), and they continue to perform this procedure today.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., are ranked among the Best Hospitals for cancer by U.S. News & World Report. Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., is ranked high performing for cancer by U.S. News & World Report.

Mayo Clinic: Answers you can trust

At Mayo Clinic, we assemble a team of specialists who take the time to listen and thoroughly understand your health issues and concerns. We tailor the care you receive to your personal health care needs. You can trust our specialists to collaborate and offer you the best possible outcomes, safety and service.

Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical institution that reinvests all earnings into improving medical practice, research and education. We're constantly involved in innovation and medical research, finding solutions to improve your care and quality of life. Your doctor or someone on your medical team is likely involved in research related to your condition.

Our patients tell us that the quality of their interactions, our attention to detail and the efficiency of their visits mean health care — and trusted answers — like they've never experienced.

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